[url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/46400138story[/url

fancy a trip over for this, can see a few neutrals from the uk heading over to sample the noucamp. bit ambitious to mention a sellout though i can see a decent attendance if they do their marketing.

bonus points to the first one to use the phrase 'a few thousand rattling around in a 99000 capacity stadium'.

barca has always had a little bit of a RL presence, i remember seeing copies of open rugby in the newsagents over there in the mid 90s

Not forgetting the mighty Wire played there, long before the pies were invited.

Im sure Leneghan will put a different spin on it.

They couldn't break Millwall so let's now try and take on Spain.

If Barcelona could attract some 15,000 - 20,000 of their football fans to attend on top of the Catalans and Wigan fans then it is possible to have 30-35,000 attend. That would be a great success. And so long as the stadium was open only in the lower tier then there could be a decent atmosphere.

Well Barca's chairman seems to be supporting it actively so could well see lots of publicity at their home matches. Going to be played on a saturday evening, good time as barca play around that time a lot i think so their supporters will be used to it.

do the spanish catalonians have a strong affinity with their french counterparts?

One thing I would say (and I know people will say it’s being negative) but they could’ve scheduled it a little bit better by having it later in the summer.

The match takes place the night before Barcelona’s final league game (away from home) if they’re playing for the league title then the club and city’s focus will be on that and not promoting and attending a RL match they night before. That’s why a couple of weeks later would’ve made more sense. Might only seem a little thing but little things can add up to an event not being as successful as it could be.

3000 fans in a 90000 stadium is going to look stupid

18k for Cat v Wires in the smaller ground, Why would there only be 3 k for this?

Always one rugby league fan who likes to put a negative on great news. How can anyone say this is a bad move?

Who said it's a bad move, but it's only exciting for Wigan fans who want to go to the game.
I doubt Hunslet Hawks fans are saying "Yes...GET IN !!!!"

For any Wigan fans who want to / are able to make the trip, a visit to Barcelona is possibly more a) more attractive, but b) more expensive than Perpignan. 120 miles away for Catalans fans, and I don't see how the football mad locals in Barcelona will flock to the game?

I'm sure that Catalans have done the sums and agreed the fixture with Wigan, so there must be some sort of financial sense behind the decision.

SL come up with the fixture list, and we can't start juggling fixtures just because a team wants to play a game 120 miles away from their home ground with the incumbent club at the remote ground having an away game in a different sport the day before.

I guess there's some potential for local interest, but only if the match tickets are at a heavily discounted price. What I don't understand is what Catalans are trying to achieve? They can't be hoping to get regular support from Barcelona locals given the 240 mile round trip for regular home games.

In the summer test match, 19000 at the smaller Mile High Stadium looked ridiculous on tv. Why do we keep persisting in taking the game to iconic stadiums without the demand being there? It consistently makes us look amateurish. One of the unique aspects of watching this great sport is the atmosphere created by us, the fans. If we want to grow the sport in Barcelona (which I am sure every one of us does), it needs to be played at a stadium that can create that atmosphere and inter-rivalry comradeship that is unique to our sport. Mini Estadi first and then if that gets sold out we move to the RCDE. To ergonomically grow the sport is the way forward and not trying the “Big Bang” like this. One day we might just get to see the Nou Camp bathed in blood and gold banners from top to bottom and a load of pasty Northerners looking around them in bewilderment!

Didn't Fartown play Catalan of old in Barcelona for a cup?

I can't wait for this this fixture, Barcelona is a marvellous city and it will interesting to watch the greatest game being played at such a fantastic ground. I have just bought some cheap flight tickets from Birmingham to Barcelona. Not yet decided on where I am stopping yet though.

Near 100,000 capacity stadium, Wigan averaged circa 13k attendance, Les Catalans circa 8k = approx 21k if every single one of them attended.
How many neutrals will attend ? Locals ? Other Club supporters ?

I would be very surprised to see more than 30k there, probably less & with the RFL's record of promotion this will become a sorry joke !

I think anything above 25k will be a success. It's good to see some ambition being shown, and hopefully it'll expose the game to some new fans. I'm thinking about going myself.

Me too. It is only 150 miles from my farm house.

Lmao

This game has already earned more column inches than any other game on the fixture list. That's what the Catalans are trying to achieve - exposure for their club, access to new audiences and appeal to new commercial partners. Will a one-off event do that? Probably not, but it should be seen as part of a long game.

Let's be honest, 120 miles is not particularly far - it's 1h20 on the high speed train.

I also don't get why the calls for discounted tickets are already coming out - prive it right, market it right and be confident in the value of this sport.

As for the stadium being too big? I think it's important to think that the Nou Camp is the attraction here. Miniestadi or Espanyol doesn't have the same allure that will get people excited. But a sport like RL being played in one of the most iconic grounds in the world? That's the appeal.itbdoesnt matter that there will be empty seats.

Honestly the replies to this thread are the exact reason rugby league is struggling at the moment in this country. It’s not just the RFL’s fault, but the fact people are slagging this idea off already shows the insular approach to the game.

What is to lose by moving this here? It’s bound to generate coverage in media, bound to be shown on TV so if I can generate extra sponsors or commercial revenue then excellent. Wigan fans were travelling anyhow so I’d maybe expect more to go with the novelty, I imagine Catalans will take a lot and with the political tensions on the Catalan region I’m sure Barcelona locals will want to support a team which resonates with the region. Aim high, try and get 50k there and invite all of the current Barca sponsors to sample the game and you only have benefits to the game.

Or we could argue that the game will look empty in a stadium because that matters so much

Agree 100% I would love to see my team play there. As you say why are folk from clubs other than Cats & Wigan complaining? It’s not as if the finances of the experiment will affect their club. Or are they worried that Catalan might kick on from there & becometop dog in our league?

Standard rugby league fan responses obsessing over crowds.
Simple facts are the crowd (which is really not the big issue here) will be higher than the capacity of Gilbert Brutus, the game will get substantially more media coverage as a result and many rugby league fans (English, French and Spanish) will get the opportunity to watch a fixture in a unique and iconic setting. Plenty to moan about then!

They were talking about doing this game right after Catalans cup win so could’ve easily planned this game for June. They organise the fixtures every year so Wigan don’t play at home in June whilst the DW pitch is relaid and Leeds have 4 away games to start the year whilst the stadium work gets completed at Headingley. So they can organise fixtures a certain way.

I suppose you also have to look at the number of British ex pat rugby fans who could live in the south of France or the northern costas of Spain who don't get the chance to see a live game apart from on tv.

I think that the initial target should be to beat the Super League record crowd (outside of Grand Finals and Magic Weekends) of 25,004. That would be a great start.

Then hopefully Catalans could go back again next year and grow the event. That's a problem we have that we don't grow events, we do it once and never go back.